If the Avs want to trade for valuable players, said picks/prospects are going to need to be valuable in return.
What readily available picks/prospects do people think are so valuable, that they're going to return players like Petterson or Crosby? Especially with retention?!?
Public service announcement: The Avs have no 1st or 3rd round picks in the upcoming 2025 draft.
I mean.... They have a 2nd. A 2025 2nd would get either of those deals you quoted above.
They also do have 2026 and 2027 1sts. They have more then enough assets to pull off the deals you quoted above. Easily.
And as for Crosby, if he were to get traded(Which I think we all know is a 1% probability of happening), he's only getting traded to one single destination, Colorado. We're not about to bid against ourselves at that point. He'll fetch a decent return but its not gonna be nearly as much as most people think.
Something like Ritchie + 2026 1st would be a reasonable base.